Chrysalis

We partied on the water this morning. [Photo Gallery] Mike and I and our friends, Joe and Claire Pacifico, launched at 9:00 a.m. from Triadelphia launch, where Triadelphia Lake Road meets the northern end of the Triadelphia Reservoir in Maryland. We had a perfect paddling day. Temperatures were in the 70s and low clouds kept the heat of the sun at bay. Before we headed off, we watched an osprey take flight from a tree. Paddling off to the northwest, we watched as an adult bald eagle glided down and snatched a fish from the water. It flew into a tree on the north side of the Patuxent river. Since we had decided ahead of time to paddle upstream on both the Patuxent and Cattail Creek – the two main tributaries that flow into the reservoir – we headed up the Patuxent River first. As we approached the eagle, we could see he was eating the fish. When we got fairly close, he took off and flew low and fairly close to us. Really awesome! A little further up the river, a large great blue heron flew between Mike [in the lead] and me. What a wonderful way to begin our party!

The high water in the reservoir has been a real treat this year. Mike and I had launched from Triadelphia last October and the water was quite low. At that time we weren’t able to go very far upstream on either the Patuxent or Cattail. Today was different. Working our way around rocks, we made good progress until we reached riffles in very shallow water. So, we turned around and paddled leisurely down stream until we reached the reservoir. At this point, we paddled north up Cattail Creek. Soon we left open water behind and glided under a canopy of tree limbs. I began taking pictures during this part of our party.

Our progress up Cattail Creek was leisurely and we truly enjoyed the area. When we reached a couple fallen trees, our party turned around and returned to the main part of the reservoir. As we approached the cove of the Triadelphia launch area, we decided to paddle a bit further on the reservoir. I looked at the map and noticed a deep cove not far away. Carved by the Big Branch, we paddled into this long narrow cove until we found the boat launch area. Getting out, we stretched our legs and rested a few minutes. The end of the cove was a beautiful aquatic garden [see photo gallery]. Before we headed back to the Triadelphia launch, we took a few minutes to explore the headwaters of Big Branch. We paddled under the Triadelphia Mill Road bridge, noticing the abandoned swallow and wasp nests. Then we turned around and headed back to the Triadelphia launch and a wonderful paddle party came to an end. At our leisurely pace, we’d covered about 6.5 miles. Mike and I agree, this probably heads our list of wonderful paddle trips this year! It would be stunning to either make this same trip in the fall or – as we discussed on the return leg to the take out point – do a one-way paddle from Triadelphia to Greenbridge. One beautiful paddle trip leads to another.